In the Beginning
by furbolly21
Summary: This is the story of the four marauders at Hogwarts. It stars in their second year when James, Peter and Sirius discover Remus’ secret. The three friends are eager to help Remus and try to find a solution to his problem
1. Those who matter, don’t mind

**Chapter one: Those who matter, don't mind**

The full moon rose above the village of Hogsmeade and a shrill howl was heard from the Shrieking Shack making the villagers quite uncomfortable… Back at Hogwarts, a young Gryffindor boy named Peter, sat up in his bed and looked around the dormitory clutching his wand. James was asleep with his glasses askew and a fluttering object in his hand. In the next bed, Sirius was snoring quietly. Peter turned… Remus' bed was empty and neatly tucked in. This was not the first time Peter has noticed his friend's absence _I'll talk to him in the morning… _and with that thought, the boy fell into a troubled sleep…

The next morning though, Peter almost forgot about his concern, far too busy helping himself to porridge and talking with his comrades.

"Hey Tristan" yelled James across the table, "Did we have homework for transfiguration?"

"Yeah, a foot long essay on Animagi" replied the boy showing his rolled up scroll.

"Ah crap! I forgot! Rem, can I borrow yours, just this last time?" James begged.

Remus looked up from his plate and shrugged. Did his friend take advantage of him? He didn't like to think of it that way. After all he didn't want James to get into trouble so he stuffed a few more pieces of bacon in his mouth and nodded. Relief could be read in James' dark eyes.

"Thanks mate, you're a real lifesaver"

Remus smiled despite himself: he cherished their happiness too much to ever refuse a favor. Peter suddenly looked up and realized how tiered his friend looked and remembered his night-time ponderings.

"Hey, you weren't in the dormitory last night…" he whispered. Remus looked around the table; Peter's inquiry went unnoticed.

"Umm… Yes, well, I – I was working late and fell asleep in the common room!" He said looking a bit uncomfortable but happy with himself nevertheless. Of core last night, he hasn't even been near the common room; he was as usual, at this time of month in the Shrieking shack, on one of his monthly strolls as he liked to call them.

Later that day, in transfiguration, Professor McGonagall sent Remus to the hospital wing because of his sick appearance. So Remus dragged himself thru the empty hallways wanting nothing more than the comfort of the warm hospital bed. As he walked in the nurse shook her head knowingly muttering

"Lupin, Lupin… No sleep again dear?"

Without waiting for answer or questioning further, she gave him a sleeping potion. Remus slid under the covers and accepted the goblet from her hands.

"Thank you Mrs. Laurence"

"It's nothing dear, it's nothing. I wish I could do more"

He smiled at the plump little woman, what a kind and loving heart she had! With that thought his head sank into the pillow, his eyes closed slowly and all his worries drifted away.

When Remus awoke it was dark outside the window but he could see the lamp on his night-table turned on and he thought he could hear murmurs. Remus turned his head to look around but ever so carefully so that his awake would come unnoticed. There at the foot of his bed were to black haired figures and another one on the neighbor bed.

"Shiesh... Who would want to use phoenix droppings for a simple headache even if it dose have healing powers"

"Quit reading the damn ingredients, will you? I'm serious! We've all noticed he's never been very well… last year I thought it was nerves of first years, I mean, we've all had a time adapting…"

"You two? If I didn't know better you two were born in Hogwarts! Adapting! You knew were everything was on the second week! I still don't…"

"Ok, ok! That's not the point! We're talking about Remus here" a sigh was heard "he's been up here for times since the start of term"

"Well maybe we should just ask him?"

"Sure! _Hi Rem, do you by any chance suffer from mental breakdowns or some handicap or are you just not a physically strong person that you visit the Hospital wing about every month?_Yeah I think that'll go down well!"

Remus had to suppress a snort of laughter; he had had enough of eavesdropping so he gave a huge false yawn to indicate his presence. Six eyes turned in his direction.

"Well blimey, you sure take your sweet time!" Said a nervous but cheery voice he recognized to be Sirius'.

"Slept thru the whole afternoon! The nurse even made us do our homework while we waited!" Added James.

"It won't kill you for once" replied Remus more coolly than he intended. "Th- Thanks for coming you guys" he added fearing he was too harsh.

"So…How are you?" Questioned Peter.

"I'm…" began Remus, he was about to say "fine" when a crazy thought came over him _Why always lie? After all, they trust me and I, them…_ he heard his mother's tender voice ringing in hit ears:_"Those who mind don't matter, and those who matter, don't mind…always remember that dear"_. For a crazy moment he considered finishing his phrase with "a werewolf" but it sounded fake and troubling so instead he said:

"I'm not doing so great actually, but it will pass, it always does" and after scanning the perplexed looks on his friends' faces he sighed and added closing hid eyes as if begging for strength:

"Every month around this time, I take a walk to the Shrieking Shack and I don't feel very well after that"

"You're mental! You visit that ghost or… or what ever it is that's making those noises?" Said Peter in disbelief.

"They started calling it the shrieking shack only when you started school didn't they? It's you isn't it?" said Sirius his tone barely auditable and his head bowed so that Remus didn't see his face but still nodded solemnly.

An expression of dawning comprehension fell upon James' face as he linked two and two.

"Are you… Are you a werewolf?" Asked James biting his lip but looking up. Again, Remus nodded.


	2. The challenge

Ok, so I don't own any HP characters you recognise, I might add some teachers because, you know, the teachers that teach Harry now can't all have been present in his parents' time. Other than that, I haven't got anything else to say except; Bon Appetit! Enjoy the yummyness :D

**Chapter two: The challenge**

For the next few days his friends were very cautious around Remus. They never mentioned the conversation in the Hospital wing, nor did they make jokes about his studying, nor did they misbehave. In fact it seemed to Remus that his friends have been completely drained out. At first he thought the change was a kind of relief, but soon he found himself speaking with none but clones of James, Sirius and Peter. He shivered at the thought. No no, clones were those strange twin-like things he read about in muggle science-fiction. These were his friend, the very same people just acting a bit… different…

Remus sighed; they were all sitting in the library and doing homework. Either James didn't mind it too much for once or he was a very good actor because he seemed sincerely interested and absorbed. Remus suspected the former seeing as Transfiguration was his least hated class. He was so tired of the abrupt change in their character, so annoyed with his own continence that he actually considered yelling at them to bring them back to their senses. But one look at the librarian shook this idea off; instead he lent close to James and whispered:

"Hey, it's a sunny day and we've still got all of Sunday to get this done… Fancy a stroll outside or a bit of flying? Exercises will do us good" the others who were listening close gaped at him. James however studied him for a moment with a hopeful grin playing on his lips.

"Well, if you're sure we can get this homework done in time, then…" he said trying to look pained at the thought of unfinished homework. "Last one to the pitch is a batty owl!" He jumped up with his bag, and ran strait to Gryffindor tower. The others followed suit.

James opened the Quidditch locker room and got three school brooms for his friends. They all took turns riding James' broom, a Super Sweeper which was a lot faster and more docile then the school ones. Peter was often being shaken off by his mount and Remus was a bit dizzy from the height but they still managed to have fun.

After nearly two hours of playing catch and two-a-side Quidditch, the laughing friends headed towards the castle with sore limbs. And when a peaceful, exhausted silence fell, Remus decided to speak up:

"Hey, you guys, you know you don't have to act all gloomy just 'cause you know the truth now. I felt a lot better this evening then I have in the past week and I'm sure you all did. Wait" he held up a hand at James who looked as if he was about to reply.

"The greatest gift you guys can make, you all ready made: You stayed with me when you found out what I am, you didn't run you didn't turn away from me, you remained my friends and for that I am grateful. And I would appreciate if you weren't all solemn on my account…" Thoughts have been flooding his mind for a long time now, enough to make him want to get a pensive. Some were happy others not too much so… But one kept floating up to the surface _What if they're merely afraid? What if they're not really my friends? What if they're scared of what I am?_ The"If"s were making his head ach so he decided to pluck up his courage and make the first move.

"And if you stayed with me just out of fear then I guess I misjudged you." he finished in a weak strangled voice and walked off leaving his friends dumbstruck. James was the first to come back to his senses.

"Hey! Hey wait up!" he yelled running after Remus, the other two at his heals.

"Woah, wai- wait up" he gasped when he finally reached his at the marble stairs. "You're insane you know that?" he added still trying to catch his breath. Sirius spoke for him:

"Look mate, we didn't think you'd rip us to pieces if we put a toe out of line " (Peter flinched) "now that we know that… well you know…We just thought, it would be less painful not to talk about it, we wanted to give you some peace…and time…"

Remus smiled as tears of happiness and relief replaced his anxiousness.

"Thanks" he muttered and pulled them all into a hug.

"Rem, you could let go now…" choked out James after a while. The little gang laughed going up the stairs. They got so distracted that Peter forgot to jump the trick step, the others, who hadn't noticed, had to double back to get him out.

That time was a great challenge for their friendship and they all felt as if they'd been stuck at the bottom of the Black Lake with no oxygen for the passed few days, but when they finally swam out that afternoon, their friendship bond was tighter than ever before.

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Okies, hope you liked that :D next update... soon I guess. I'm only a beginner writer so any comments and critiques would be welcomed with open arms!

Spoiler Muahahahaha!

: "Ah, nothing much, James and I spent half the class developing a new kind of sleep powder and you know…"started Sirius :

: "Sure as if I'm not going to- Wait what-?" Remus' voice was confused. :

: "NO!" The word hung in the air like the sound of a slap. "N-no, no you- you can't you'll endanger yourselves, you'll, you'll…" :

That had better make you want to comment :D


	3. Mischief and explanations

**A/N so here's the third chapter I hope you like it :D **

**I do not own any Harry Potter characters you recognize they are (C) to JK Rowling and we love her for creating them! ****I might add some teachers because, you know, the teachers that teach Harry now can't all have been present in his parents' time. **

**Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 3 : Mischief and explanations**

Almost a month had passed since the afternoon on the Quidditch pitch and everything was back to normal. Well, almost everything. At times Remus would use his new authority to actually make his friends do homework in the hope that they'll get used to it and start working on their own. But so far his experiments were showing no perspective.

The Great Hall was bathed in a bright morning light and the High Ceiling showed a cloudless sky of a perfect forget-me-not blue. Students were slowly dragging themselves to breakfast and the tables filled with the buzz of conversation. Sirius flipped open his agenda and groaned after scanning the page.

"Double History of magic followed by Transfiguration …This should be a fun morning!"

"Well History isn't so bad" James pointed out, "Remus takes notes and we play hangman" Remus, scandalized, leaned across the table to hit James on the head with his history book, while the three others burst out laughing.

However, History of magic was not a very entertaining class. Professor Binns, their oldest teacher, decided it was a perfect day for a pop quiz, much to the disappointment of his students.

Remus was surprised but not too pained at this change of plan, he skimmed over his notes only yesterday, the test should be a piece of cake; Sirius who had a knack for remembering information even though he only half heard it, thought the same thing; James didn't much care about marks and found the subject utterly pointless; and Peter was a lost case whether he studied or not. So there was no real damage except that done by boredom.

The test was long and dull and the shinning sun made it all worst if you're trying to concentrate on names of rebel wizards and dates of great revolutions. The students' minds kept wandering off and the whole class sighed with relief at the sound of the bell. While everyone left as fast as possible, James decided to stay behind and be the last to hand in his test. The old teacher shook his head "You'll have to study harder for the next test Parker"

"It's Potter, sir" James cut in trying not to laugh.

"Yes yes, Mr. Palter, off you go now."

"What was that about?" inquired Remus once out of the teacher's view.

"Ah, nothing much, James and I spent half the class developing a new kind of sleeping powder and you know…"started Sirius

"We wanted to test it out, Bins seemed like the right guy…" Put in James.

"Good, I hope he doesn't correct my test" muttered Peter.

"Trust me, as soon as he touches the first paper tonight, he'll be too drowsy for corrections!" Laughed the master mind. But Remus shook his head disapprovingly.

"You'll get a few nights of detention if he finds out who did it!"

Being a school for young wizards and witches and a very antique battlement, Hogwarts is full of magic. The magic is deep in the walls, in the waters of the lake, in every soul and spirit. And the very air is saturated with magic. Maybe that's why gossip travels so much faster in the wizarding world than in ordinary high-schools with ordinary girls and boys (and I must tell you, word travels as fast as light in some muggle schools), or perhaps some gossipers have a magical means of communication, or as the old saying goes, maybe the walls do have ears. Whichever reason it is, information didn't like to stay put. Because by lunch time that day, it was common knowledge to all the Gryffindors that James and Sirius put some kind of powder in the History teacher's papers. Somme even exaggerated and said it was pixie droppings or powdered root of asphodel used in the draught of the living dead.

The common room was full of noise that evening, everyone was busy with ordinary activities; reading, playing exploding-snap or chess, practicing jinxes on fellow students, and yet the air seamed more excited than usual. The two mischievours (A/N sp?) were sitting by the fire with their other friends waiting for the common room to empty before starting on their work. One by on the students went to bed and soon there was no one aside a few fifth and seventh year students finishing yet another essay. A tired looking girl picked up her books and started for her dormitory, then turned around.

"You know, I i _should /i _punish you guys, I mean what you did was…" She said looking at James in particular.

"Ingenious?" Joked the latter

"Horrid!"

"Ah, but you'll be happy not to have Binns tomorrow won't you now?" replied Sirius.

Grinning despite herself the prefect left and the boys stared at the fire smiling for a while, Then James spoke.

"So, Rem… It's almost full moon…"

"Really? I had no idea! Where would I be without you?" came the sarcastic reply.

"You'd be stuck as a werewolf forever"

"Sure as if I'm not going to- Wait what-?" Remus' voice was confused.

"We wan help you!" said Sirius happily.

Help? Skeptical Remus scanned his friends' faces, they want to actually help a werewolf? No, he corrected himself; they want to help a friend. He suddenly laughed.

"Sure, if Dumbledore, a dozen specialists and researching healers couldn't do much, I'm sure a trio of teenagers is definitely going to have more luck solving the mystery people have been trying to solve for centuries!"

Apparently, none of the others have considered this because they exchanged embarrassed looks and burst out laughing as well.

"Alright, alright you've got a point!" said Peter

"But there must be something we could do..." Continued Sirius "What… What's it like anyways? Does it hurt?"

"It's kind of strange" answered Remus thinking hard "First I'm me, then… well it hurts a bit 'cause the entire skeleton has to change and teeth grow and everything but then, well then I start to smell even better than before and I feel kind of… well, good, actually…as a wolf. But the wolf also feels trapped and lonely, animals don't like imprisonment see? The wolf doesn't have much place to stretch out muscles or use claws… or anyone to keep him company… Then towards morning it stars hurting again because of the second change… It's very exhausting to tell you the truth…"

Remus was dreamy for a few more moments but if felt insanely good to share what he felt with his friends. Of course he omitted a few things not to scare them: the fact that the transformation was comparable to the "crucio" curse, or the fact that he loved being a wolf because it made all human nonsense thoughts fly out of his mind, and the fact that he couldn't really control his wolf form.

"Wow..." mumbled James in awe "changing your bones… that's got to hurt a lot"

"Er…Yeah"

"Hey" suddenly said Sirius "If you're lonely then we could come with you! Accompany you to make you feel better" his voice was light and happy but Remus had a horrid image in his head.

"NO!" The word hung in the air like the sound of a slap. "N-no, no you- you can't you'll endanger yourselves, you'll, you'll…"

"Calm down Remus" said James steeling his friend back in his seat, although Remus had no recollection of ever getting up.

"No" repeated Remus calmly but firmly "Humans don't get along with wolves"

"Rem, we're your friends… of course we would…"

"You might , but a wolf won't express courtesy to a bunch of humans. While I'm a wolf you are nothing but an easy prey, a snack…It's complicated" his eyes were sad and troubled. He shook his head, got up and left for the dormitory with a short "'Night"

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**Awww, Remmy is starting to be al protective! Gotta love that guy!**

**Spoiler: **

**: … Maybe we can train Remmy :**

**: Peter stared, James reached for his forehead ("Are you sick, mate?") and Remus laughed :**

**: "I truly am fond of Fawkes' judgment" spoke a voice from behind making James and Sirius jump. :**

**Please review! **


	4. Gosts and Ideas

**I do not own any Harry Potter characters you recognize they are (C) to JK Rowling and we love her for creating them! I might add some teachers because, you know, the teachers that teach Harry now can't all have been present in his parents' time.**

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**Chapter 4 : Ideas**

The next morning the four Gryffindors were all sleepy-eyed and tired, having stayed up late the previous night, but Sirius was especially distant. All during breakfast he kept frowning at his pumpkin jus and didn't talk much. His thoughts were spinning since last night even as he walked:

_There must be_some_ way of helping Remus!_ _If a werewolf takes up the mind of a wolf during the full moon… Maybe we can train Remmy to like humans… no I guess that wouldn't work because he would transform back into a human before we get a chance to teach him anything… But what if we use some spell on him? No, like he said some healer would have figured it out before us if it was possible… we have to help him though… perhaps, no humans don't get along with wolves-_

Sirius froze as the solution dawned on him. He stopped dead in his tracks smiling and staring blankly in front of him. He could hear James talking as his friends walked on.

"Snape's such a git, though! Refusing to help Evans just cuz she's muggle-born."

"You're just complaining cuz you fancy her, aren't you?" said Remus rolling his eyes.

"Who, me? I do not! Sirius tell- Sirius?" James turned around to see the dark-haired boy standing a few meters away.

"What's wrong mate?"

"I'm going to the library" said Sirius as his friends gaped at him.

Peter stared, James reached for his forehead ("Are you sick, mate?") and Remus laughed.

"Sirius, do you even know where the library is?"

"Hey! I've been there… once" Sirius defended himself "when the prefects showed us around Hogwarts back in first year" at that remark everyone collapsed in laughter including Sirius.

Sirius was flipping through a particularly thick book, their lessons had been postponed for a reason he ignored but it gave him time to go research what he needed. _Of course, how did I not think of it before? Humans don't get along with wolves. **Humans** don't get along with wolves, but other animals might!_

Beaming with pride and happiness, Sirius grabbed the books he consulted and went back to the common room to share his idea with the others. He was still lost in thoughts when he arrived at the portrait hole and almost ran into the Fat Lady.

"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry young man?" bellowed the portrait

"The common room" The Gryffindor replied warily "I would think it was obvious" he added with a smirk

"You'd better mind your manners young man or I'll report strait to Dumbledore!"

"Yeah, Yeah, fiddlesticks!"

The Fat Lady was about to reply but she was forced to open at the sound of the password. One may wonder as to why the Head Boy and Girl invent such passwords but the Fat Lady was sure that it was to irritate her, which is what happened every time the password was said.

Almost automatically Sirius walked towards their favorite armchairs only to find sour and dazed looking James Sitting with Remus and Peter who both looked troubled.

"What's eating?" said Sirius.

"You two are in bigger trouble than you ever bargained that's what!" snapped Remus with disapproval weighing on his every word.

"Why's that?"

"Because" explained Peter "We've got a ghost teacher now! Binns!"

"What?" exploded Sirius.

James, looking hardly calmer, said "I don't know, we could have put too much powder or it didn't work right or something, but the idiot just fell asleep and got up as a ghost!"

"Blimey… You mean he actually…? Blimey… " muttered Sirius.

The heavy silence was broken by Sarah, the fifth year prefect. She looked a lot less amused than she did last night.

"Potter, Black! Dumbledore wants you in his office… you'd better go as fast as you can"

Without a word the two troublemakers got up and walked to the portrait hole leaving troubled Remus and Peter sitting where they were. Remus was suddenly wishing he'd been less harsh with his friends and hesitated a moment too long to call after them. Before he could make up his mind, the boys were out of sight.

There was nothing else to do but wait for their return. And Remus decided to do what he always did when troubled: bury himself in a book. He was fidgeting nervously with the pages of his potions notes without reading a word for a long time before everything went blurry as sleep gained on him.

As James and Sirius ascended the moving staircase up to Dumbledore's office they felt all their Gryffindor bravery leaking away. So far, as a result of their misbehaving they only had to confront McGonagall so a meeting with the headmaster himself wasn't anticipated. Never the less, both boys entered the room with strait backs and their heads held high. The headmaster's office gave off an immediate sense of comfort; it was well lit by the large ornamental windows and full of twinkling objects and bowls of sweets. A beautiful bird was perching on the top of an arm chair. The bird was large and had a magnificent red coat that seemed to glitter with gold. It studied the two newcomers with a strict eye as if judging their worthiness. In the end the bird seemed to approve of them because it relaxed and James could have sworn it gave a short nod.

"I truly am fond of Fawkes' judgment" spoke a voice from behind making James and Sirius jump.

Dumbledore stood in front of them and smiled. He was wearing a purple hat with golden stars and matching robes which made him look less like a professor and more like a little boy.

"Only in second year and I've already heard so many stories about you two!"

"…"

"What happened to Professor Binns is very sad but you are not to blame… Well, at least, not entirely to blame"

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**Tell me what you think :D**

**Spoiler:**

**: "Not too bad" came the answer, you could hear it in his voice that Remus was smiling behind his book.:**

**: "Well" Said Sirius, with an impish grin, taking out a thick transfiguration book from his bag "What if…:**


	5. The Plan

**Ta-ta! finally :D (If there are any mistakes such as names or spells, just tell me, thanks.)**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

**Chapter 5: **

Sirius and James slowly made their way to the common room. They walked silently through the empty and dark hall thinking about their meeting with the headmaster.

He explained that professor Binns had been old and that he was used to routine. The sleeping powder was still acting on the old man's body in the morning but he was so determined to go give his usual lessons that he merely got up and left, thus separating his soul and body, he did not even feel the change. Dumbledore had also said that Professor Binns had not been hurt in any way, except for being now a spirit and that he would continue to teach at Hogwarts. In the end the two boys only got two weeks of detention each, in the hopes that next time they will think before tricking someone or coming up with another prank.

Sunshine turned to rain as October gave place to November. The trees on Hogwarts' grounds were no longer golden but stood bare and gray and the wind became stronger and colder, forcing students to stay in their common rooms more often. The two weeks of detention had quickly passed for James and Sirius and they now had free evenings with Remus and Peter.

Another full moon had gone by before Sirius decided to bring up the subject of Remus' condition and the fact that they still wanted to help him.

It was a Saturday evening and Peter was still in the Great Hall talking with some of his Hufflepuff friends wile the three other Gryffindors sat cozily by the fire. Remus was reading, James staring longingly in the direction of a certain redhead and Sirius was sketching absently on his essay.

"So Rem, how was you transformation yesterday?" asked James not taking his eyes of the laughing Lily.

"Not too bad" came the answer, you could hear it in his voice that Remus was smiling behind his book.

"Listen" said Sirius a bit tense. Nervousness, Remus found, didn't suit his friend at all.

"I know you're a bit… _touchy_ about the idea of us helping you, but I think I've thought of something"

Sirius gestured for Remus to lean in so he could explain his plan and be unheard. With a last glance for Lily, James came closer as well.

"You said that humans don't get along with Werewolves, right?" Remus frowned but nodded.

"So would a werewolf get along with, say …an _animal_?"

"Well yes, I think so. I've read stories about werewolves living with animals. There was even one about a man who was doing experiments and placed a rabbit and a werewolf together in a cage for the night and both were fine in the morning, even though a normal wolf would have eaten the rabbit as soon as they were places in proximity of each other. But I'm not entirely sure that wasn't just fable…" Remus stopped to take breath; he wasn't usually one to talk a lot.

"Why do you ask?" Questioned Remus not seeing were the conversation was going.

"Well" Said Sirius, with an impish grin, taking out a thick transfiguration book from his bag "What if we _became _animals to keep you company?"

Remus stared.

"Sorry?"

James, on the other hand, looked interested. His eyes sparkled with excitement. And smile similar to Sirius' spread across his lips.

"You mean transfigure, like McGonagall?" he asked.

Sirius, clearly pleased that James caught on, nodded eagerly. Remus raised an eyebrow and looked from one boy to the other. He waited for one of them to react but they just stared back at him eagerly.

"You're kidding right?"

"…"

"Right?" he asked again, getting a little impatient now.

Sirius and James exchanged looks then, looking very sincere, simply answered:

"Well, no"

Remus couldn't believe this. How reckless can you get? First his friends invent sleeping powder that can actually kill you and now they want to turn into animagi just because he was a stupid werewolf? This was delusional and he intended to tell them just that.

"Look, do you even have any idea how to transfigure?"

"Well n- " started Sirius but Remus interrupted him.

"Did you know that you need a Ministry premise to transform?"

"We d-?" asked James astonished

"Did you know that it's a higher level of magic than apparition? And we only cover that in _sixth_ year."

"Yeah bu-" said Sirius hurt at being cut in mid word last time; normally he was the one doing all the interruptions.

"There are only about a few dozens _adults_ that can transfigure in the _world_! And how old are we? _Twelve_!"

"Thirteen, if you don't mind." put in Sirius, who already had his birthday "Hey, look mate, we're good students and…"

Remus raised his eyebrow snickering

"I mean good academically-wise not behavior-wise!" Answered Sirius frustrated at being interrupted for the third time within the space of barely two minutes. "Anyways, as I was sayingwe're good and you're possibly the biggest bookworm of our grade."

"Ah! _Moi_?"

"Well, it's true mate" Put in James, waving Remus off, eager to hear the rest of Sirius' plan.

"_As I was saying! _ We could research on the subject and in a year or so, I'm sure we'll be able to transform just fine! That way, you won't be as lonely during the full moon and _your_ transformations wouldn't be so bad!"

"Keep you voice down!" whispered James and Remus in union.

Right at that moment, making them all jump, arrived clumsy Peter and seated himself on the carpet next to Sirius' armchair.

"What's the conspiracy this time?" he asked innocently.

James, who sometimes got weary of Peter's presence, snapped at him:

"Don't you have some homework to do? Or write a letter to Mommy?"

Sirius rolled his eyes, exasperated. He often got frustrated at Peter, but right now he chose in unwise to side with James. _Besides,_ he thought, _it isn't like Peter did something. He's just there…_

"Never mind him" he mumbled to Peter, waving a dismissal had at James. He laid out the entire plan, enjoying the mild surprise and ever-present admiration on Peter's face.

At first Peter just goggled, mouth gaping wide, but then he started nodding in agreement.

"Yeah, I think it's a good idea. It's not fair for you to go through that all on your own." He said, turning to Remus.

Remus couldn't help smiling; his friends were so sweet and so stubborn. But when pointed out more flaws, like the danger that represented the Womping Willow or the consequences of this adventure if they were caught, Sirius just shook his head, grinning.

"Look mate, I'm not going to abandon before I even start! How's this? We all try to search for as much helpful information as possible, and then we'll decide if we should go though with it or not. In… let's say…a month."

"I'm for!" agreed James, mischief sparkling in his eyes.

"Same here" added Peter a little hesitant.

Remus rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"There's no way of talking you out of this, is there?" he asked. The other three shook their heads in Union.

"None!"

That night Remus was having trouble falling asleep, his head was bursting with thoughts and he saw scenario upon scenario floating before his eyes. A part of him desperately wanted to agree to this, to make the crazy transfigurations work. He saw himself with three other animals and for the first time during the full moon, he was happy. Then the scene turned into disaster. He saw his friends in human form with patches of fur and malformed skeletons. He saw a wolf tearing them apart, hungry for flesh and warm blood. He saw himself and three horridly wounded Gryffindors being expelled, the useless twigs of their snapped wands in front of them. He saw- No. No, no, no, he would chase these images away from his head.

He got up quietly and muttered "_Aguamenti"_ as water poured from the tip of his wand into his goblet. Remus took a few sips and walked to the window. Despite his constant fear of it, he still found the moon beautiful. The incomplete sphere seemed to be winking at him, telling him that it wasn't so bad, that the sky only let the moon escape once a month and gobbled it up right afterwards. He looked at his friends' sleeping silhouettes and sighed: once James and Sirius got some demented idea in their minds, there was no convincing them against it. Peter was easier to influence but he would follow them anywhere out of fear of being left all alone. Sirius was definitely hell-bent to bring this raw, loony sketch to life. If all Remus could do was stop it from turning to disaster, he would do it. He resolved then to research like he had never done before and read though the entire Hogwarts' library if he had to, to patch up gaps in his friend's plan and make it a relatively safe one.

The boy then climbed back under his covers and, this time, fell asleep instantly.

* * *

**Tell me what you think! PLEASE (I need motivation to write )**

**Hopefully, ch 6 up soon :D**


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